Very Little
'Extraordinary' About Latest SADC Summit

WINDHOEK, May 22, 2011 (IPS) - Inaction marked the Extraordinary
Summit of Southern African Development Community heads of state in Windhoek
this weekend, despite an agenda covering Zimbabwe elections, political
deadlock in Madagascar, the suspension of the regional court and allegations
of corruption within SADC itself.

In the days leading up to the
summit, there was the chance that it might not take place at all, with the
South African president, Jacob Zuma, pulling out at the last moment,
preferring to concentrate on local elections in his own
country.

Local newspapers branded the meeting "a farce" over poor
preparations and a scathing editorial in the daily newspaper, The Namibian,
criticised SADC presidents for a failure to lead that is in sharp contrast
to the high ideals of regional integration. In the end, eleven heads of
state and their representatives met in Windhoek, but deliberations lasted
only a few hours before the summit was ended.

Corruption
allegations

The summit opened with allegations of rampant corruption in
the SADC Secretariat based in Gaborone, Botswana. The Namibian weekly
newspaper Windhoek Observer revealed that SADC personnel have called on the
present SADC Chair, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, to conduct an
audit of the Secretariat.

The paper quoted an anonymous source within
SADC as saying, "We want an investigation because this has become an
institution of money laundering. They create illegal contracts, they are
always traveling abroad, there is no transparency and accountability and
they lie to the Council [of Ministers]."

The allegations of widespread
misuse of donor money and funds from member states, with a top management
that has grown "addicted to lavish spending", will have been uncomfortable
reading for both Southern African ministers and representatives of the
European Union, which provides important financial support to
SADC.

Pohamba confirmed he had been made aware of the accusations in
April, said the Council of Ministers "would look into the matter". The
Observer claimed that the Council had already been presented with a report
detailing graft within the Secretariat, but has yet to act.

SADC
Tribunal

The Summit was also expected to make a decision on the
suspension of the SADC Tribunal. Following the Tribunal's referral of a
ruling against Zimbabwe for the expropriation of land from farmers, SADC
heads of state declined to force Zimbabwe to act, instead suspending the
regional court in August 2010, pending a review of its functions.

In
a brief communiqué issued late on Friday, the Summit said it "mandated the
Ministers of Justice/Attorneys General to initiate the process aimed at
amending the relevant SADC legal instruments and submit a progress report in
August 2011 and a final report to Summit in August 2012".

The
amendments would be based on recommendations made by the bloc's justice
ministers, recommendations that are in turn based on the outcome of an
independent review of the Tribunal by experts from Cambridge University. The
consultants are known to have supported the Tribunal's competence to handle
the case against Zimbabwe, but ministers are thought to have recommended
amendments that will insulate the member states from cases brought against
them by their citizens, possibly by transforming the Tribunal into a court
arbitrating disputes among member states.

Asked whether the
ministers’ recommendations would be made public, SADC’s Executive Secretary
Tomaz Salomão told journalists neither the media nor SADC citizens really
needed to know what was in the report.

Meanwhile other significant cases
- in which diamond companies are claiming compensation against the
governments of Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa - cannot move
forward.

Zimbabwe's government of national unity

Before the
meeting, Salomão had hinted it was unlikely that heads of states would
discuss the issue of Zimbabwe in the absence of Zuma, who the bloc appointed
as mediator between rival parties in a government of national unity. Indeed
the communiqué released after the meeting makes no mention of
Zimbabwe.

Civil society groups, lawyers and journalists who had
traveled to Windhoek were barred from demonstrating outside the summit in an
increasingly repressive trend that is becoming a hallmark of the Namibian
Chairmanship.

Madagascar power-sharing

No decision was taken on
Madagascar either. The Indian Ocean island was suspended from SADC after a
coup in December 2009; the regional body has hosted a series of meetings to
mediate between parties and return the country to constitutional
rule.

"Summit considered the report of the SADC mediator, His Excellency
Joaquim A. Chissano, former President of the Republic of Mozambique, noting
the development of the roadmap for returning that country to constitutional
normalcy."

The heads of state restated that there is still a "need
for an all-inclusive political process towards finding a lasting solution of
the challenges facing the country", and scheduled another meeting to this
end will be held in Gaborone in the near future.

The outcome of the
Extraordinary Summit raises questions over the credibility of the regional
bloc's ability to provide leadership, as decisions on difficult political
questions are stalled, progress on economic integration is slow, and
involvement in processes by civil society is minimal.

Sadc
snubs Zanu PF

WINDHOEK - Zanu PF’s bid to have the Livingstone Troika
decisions reviewed and the Zimbabwe crisis discussed at the Sadc heads of
state summit here in the absence of facilitator President Jacob Zuma failed
after regional leaders snubbed the former ruling party’s maneuvers
yesterday.

The Zimbabwe issue was suddenly back on the agenda
yesterday after earlier reports had indicated otherwise with Sadc executive
secretary, Tomaz Salomao explaining that the heads of state had put the
issue on the agenda with a view of deferring it to the Johannesburg summit
on the weekend of June 11.

President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF had
hoped to force through the issue in the absence of the other players in
Zimbabwe’s political crisis, but the Sadc leaders, who are increasingly
becoming tough on the Zimbabwe President, stood firm.

Zanu PF had
even brought with it a position paper expecting to present it to Sadc, a
copy of which is in possession of the Daily News.

Said Salomao: “Zimbabwe
was on the agenda but the Sadc leaders did not consider it as the
facilitator requested that the issue to be discussed in Johannesburg,”
Salomao told journalists after the summit.

Expectations were high among
the Mugabe contingent that the Troika, which they have heavily criticised
since the March summit, would be reviewed in their favour.

“The Zanu
PF position paper was never even considered. They do not dictate to us what
to do and how we do things. There is an ongoing process involving
facilitator, President Zuma. We are an orderly organisation and President
Zuma’s report will form the basis of the Zimbabwe discussion,” said the
official.

Mugabe’s rivals in the inclusive government, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara and the leader of the
smaller MDC faction Welshman Ncube were not invited to the summit as it was
a meeting of heads of state.

In the position paper, Mugabe is
reiterating his party’s position that elections should be held this year
arguing that the Global Political Agreement (GPA) has since expired but the
region has always maintained that Zimbabwe’s polls are only realistic from
next year after the completion of the electoral road map.

“The only
way forward is for the parties to the GPA to speedily conclude the
constitution making process and allow the people of Zimbabwe to proceed to a
referendum and harmonised elections.

“The current delaying tactics
employed by the MDC formations is a recipe for political and economic
instability. Zimbabwe cannot afford such political gimmick. There is no
cohesion in the inclusive government and prolonging the constitution making
process can never be a solution,” reads part of the Zanu PF position
paper.

“The bottom line is that Mugabe is in a tight corner especially
after his Zanu PF party showed that it does not respect the region through
the unwarranted attacks on us and President Zuma, who is doing a wonderful
job on Zimbabwe,” said a top Sadc diplomat.

Another source told the
Daily News that the Johannesburg summit will be make or break situation for
Mugabe, where he will for the first time come face to face with Zuma since
his party embarked on a vicious attack on the South African president after
his damming report nailed the veteran Zimbabwe ruler.

Zanu (PF)
Complains To ANC Over Lindiwe Zulu Statements

BULAWAYO, May 22, 2011- Zanu (P) has formally lodged a complaint
with the South African ruling party, the ANC, over the behaviour of Ms
Lindiwe Zulu, who is part of President Jacob Zuma's facilitation team,
following "reckless and inflammatory" statements that she made regarding the
succession law in Zimbabwe, it has emerged.

It is understood that
before the formal complaint, Vice-President John Nkomo had last week also
raised concerns about Ms Zulu's conduct to President Zuma. Sources say Mr
Zuma agreed that indeed "the girl's wings should be clipped".The
complaint against Ms Zulu, who is also President Zuma's international
relations advisor, followed the publication of inflammatory claims in the
ANC weekly newsletter, the ANC Today, on May 13 that the facilitation team
had told that country's ruling party that GPA negotiators "are concerned
about the succession law should (President) Mugabe die or retire before the
adoption of a new constitution".The sensational claim that was
attributed to Ms Zulu, who has served as the spokesperson for the
facilitation team, although Sadc does not recognise her as she was appointed
by President Zuma, has been described by observers as a "tactless,
inflammatory and irresponsible display of poor judgment by an overzealous
individual".

Prior to this engagement in the facilitation team, Ms Zulu
was the SA ambassador to Brussels.An outraged Zanu-PF official said Zulu is
"playing a very cheap and dangerous game which can be played by any fool.
What she says about our leaders we can say about her's with more
credibility.

"She is forgetting that she is a mere assistant to the
facilitator. She is just an aide. We have more senior ANC members in the
facilitation team like Cde Marc Maharaj, who are not acting recklessly like
her. She wants to speak with a voice stronger than the President of Zimbabwe
and stronger than the President of South Africa, who is the facilitator.
There is even a tinge of personal advocacy in Zulu's activities and we are
watching."

In recent weeks since Livingstone, Ms Zulu has had a number of
media outbursts which have included threats to broaden the GPA negotiations
to include all political parties allegedly to assist Dumiso Dabengwa's
Zapu.She is also reported to have described the decision by the Zanu (PF)
Politburo to support the holding of elections this year as "day
dreaming".Ms Zulu's latest outburst published by the ANC newsletter has not
gone down well within senior ranks of Zanu (PF) prompting the office of the
party's national chairman, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, to take up the matter with
his ANC counterpart, Baleka Mbete. What has infuriated the party's
leadership is that Ms Zulu's claims are patently unfounded because they are
based on the false presumption that the Constitution of Zimbabwe does not
have a succession law when the opposite is the case.

A Sadc diplomat
who spoke to this writer on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Sadc Summit
in Namibia last Friday familiar with Zulu's misconduct said Zanu (PF) is
entitled to conclude that the inflammatory and false report in the ANC
newsletter was mischievously planted to bolster Mr Tsvangirai's dossier in a
misguided effort to rescue his reputation.Said the diplomat: "What raises
eyebrows about the whole saga is that the claims in the ANC newsletter last
week came on the back of similarly offensive remarks the previous week when
hostile media reported Zulu as having called the decision by the Zanu (PF)
Politburo to stick to the holding of elections in 2011 as 租ay
dreaming'.

"Surely, even if she believes it, she has no right or
authority to say that in the media, given the fact that the holding of
elections in Zimbabwe in 2011 is a GPA position and not a Zanu (PF)
declaration. We expect officials in the facilitation team such as Zulu to
know this otherwise what are they facilitating if they are ignorant of such
a fundamental issue?"

Highly placed sources in the ANC told this paper
that many complaints have been raised in the party not only about Zulu's
apparent abuse of her position as an official in the facilitation team but
also her compromised objectivity following widespread whispers in the party
about her very close friendship and political links with Eleanor Sisulu.
Sisulu is a Zimbabwean who is married to Mark Sisulu, the SA Speaker of
Parliament. She is a well-known MDC-T activist and key fundraiser in
SA.The ANC sources said Zulu and Sisulu have had countless strategic
meetings with Mr Tsvangirai in SA, adding that these meetings have
invariably been ahead of key Sadc summits on Zimbabwe.Observers say the
way Zulu has behaved under the cover of the Sadc facilitation process has
complicated President Zuma's work as a neutral facilitator and that, in
turn, has raised concerns among Sadc leaders who do not want the respected
regional body to be dragged into the mud of regime change politics by
partisan and reckless SA officials who are not accountable to
Sadc.-Bulawayo24.com

Mugabe
desperate

President Robert Mugabe and
his party Zanu-PF continued to defy the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) this week, saying the inclusive government has failed to
work, and therefore Zimbabwe urgently needs to hold
elections.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrives for the
'Bob 87 Super Cup', a soccer match between local teams Dynamos and Caps
United, in Harare on Sunday. The event is part of birthday celebrations for
Mugabe who has just turned 87. Mugabe donated $60000 in cash to the two
teams Picture: PHILIMON BULAWAYO/REUTERSZimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe arrives for the 'Bob 87 Super Cup', a soccer match between local
teams Dynamos and Caps United, in Harare on Sunday. The event is part of
birthday celebrations for Mugabe who has just turned 87. Mugabe donated
$60000 in cash to the two teams Picture: PHILIMON
BULAWAYO/REUTERS

The Zanu-PF position is contained in a paper which
party members tried to present at the SADC summit in Windhoek, Namibia on
Friday. The party also said the process of coming up with an election road
map was a waste of time, arguing the Global Political Agreement was
adequate.

A desperate Mugabe tried and failed to force the regional
leaders to discuss the Zimbabwean crisis and review the findings of the
Troika in Livingstone, in March, in the absence of facilitator President
Jacob Zuma, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his deputy Arthur Mutambara
and MDC-N leader Welshman Ncube.

Sources in Windhoek told the Sunday
Times that Mugabe was not happy with the Livingstone findings, which blamed
him for violence against opponents, arbitrary arrests of foes and the
breakdown in the rule of law. The regional leaders warned him that if he did
not stop harassing and intimidating people he risked a North African-style
revolt.

A combative Mugabe has been at loggerheads with Zuma's
facilitation team and the SADC, which insists that Zimbabwe is not capable
of holding free and fair elections until an election road map is in place.
The SADC wants to avoid bloody elections, as has happened in the
past.

In the position paper seen by the Sunday Times, Zanu-PF disputes
that it is violent, instead accusing the MDC of causing most of the
violence.

SADC insiders told the Sunday Times that Zanu-PF also came
armed with a dossier from the police, blaming most of the violence on
MDC-T.

"It is a fact that the three political parties to the GPA have
failed to work together as a team for the development of the country. They
have failed to fight the illegal sanctions together, to support the agrarian
reform, and to speak with one voice on indigenisation.

"The party
will religiously adhere to the tenets of the GPA and ensure its full
implementation. This is the reason why we are saying we need to go for
elections this year and not next year, as this is consistent with the
provisions of the GPA.

"The GPA clearly stipulates that elections
should be held two years after the formation of the inclusive government and
this is the reason Zanu-PF maintains that elections should be held after the
completion of the constitution-making process.

"The GPA envisaged the
completion of the constitution-making process within 18 months. This has not
been achieved because of the MDC-T's strategy to delay the elections by
boycotting sessions of COPAC on very flimsy excuses. There is no reason
Zimbabwe should not go for elections," reads the paper in
part.

However, regional diplomats said they were surprised Mugabe
came with such a position paper when he was the biggest GPA violator. "The
Zanu-PF position surprised the heads of state, not only because Mugabe is
the chief culprit, but because he knew that the facilitator was not there,
together with the other political parties in the inclusive
government.

"The SADC leaders would simply prefer the Zimbabwe issue to
be discussed on June 11 in Johannesburg. We are aware Mugabe wants to avoid
the Joburg summit. He knows he will be facing a lot of hostility
there.

"What is clear is that Mugabe is in trouble with the region. They
are no longer taking his lies as they have very good and reliable briefings
on the situation," said an SADC insider.

Zimbabwe's electoral system
is in a shambles, with an outdated voters' roll. The Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) has no money to run the elections, and the SADC and
opposition parties in Zimbabwe do not want the military and security
institutions to be involved in the electoral process at all. But Zanu-PF
insists on elections being held this year amid reports that the party is
prepared to go it alone without the SADC.

Wars Vets
Petrol Bomb Chief’s Aide Homestead

BULAWAYO, May 22, 2011- Liberation war veterans have petrol
bombed a homestead belonging an MDC-T supporter who is employed as an aide
to a Zanu (PF) aligned Chief in Mberengwa West Constituency in the central
province of Midlands.

MDC-T chairperson for Midlands South, Lilian
Timveous said war veterans in Chizungu area on Wednesday night petrol bombed
the homestead of Alois Ndiweni an MDC-T supporter in Tuna Village in
Chizungu.

Ndiweni’s crime, said the MDC-T chairperson, is that he is
employed as an aide to a traditional chief allegedly aligned to Zanu (PF)
yet he supports the opposition.

“They went to Ndiweni’s homestead in
the middle of the night on Wednesday where they threw three petrol bombs,
but lucky enough there was no one at the time but the bombs destroyed the
homestead.“The war veterans were led by one known ex-combatant who calls
himself “Hitler”

“ Hitler and his gang accused Ndiweni of being a
sellout because he is a member of our party whilst at the same time he is
employed as an aide to Chief Chizungu, ” Timveous told radio
Vop.

Timveous said the war veterans vowed they would make sure that
Ndiweni left his job as Chief Chizungu’s aide.Hitler and his other
colleague a Mr Mbedzi were arrested over the incident and detained for few
hours at Mberengwa police station, before being released without a
charge.

Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo who is also a former legislator
for Mberengwa East constituency however accused MDC-T of tarnishing the
image of his party.

“These people just want to continue tarnishing
the image of Zanu (PF). Mberengwa is my home area and recently I personally
engaged our supporters there not to get involved in any form of violence,”
said Gumbo.

Last month war veterans and Zanu (PF) youths led by Sayinai
Madhaka declared war against MDC-T supporters in Mberengwa district, saying
their party should start setting up a refugee camp as they will be all
forced to flee.Several MDC supporters have also fled their homes in
Mbirashava area in the same district after another team of war veterans led
by one Retired Major Shava raided their homes for boycotting a Zanu (PF)
meeting.

Black
Farmer Falls On Hard Times

HARARE, May 22,
2011- On the eve of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
extraordinary summit of heads of state in Namibia this weekend, a
dispossessed black commercial farmer has been forced to sell packets of
sugar to feed his family.

Luke Tembani, 74, one of the first black
commercial farmers after Zimbabwean independence in 1980, lost the title to
his farm in November 2000 when it was unilaterally auctioned by the
Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe (ABZ) to cover a loan.Despite Tembani's
proposal to sell off a section of the farm to cover the debt, his entire
property was sold to a third party at a fraction of its value.Tembani
took his case to the High Court of Zimbabwe, which ruled in his favour, but
the ABZ appealed to the Supreme Court - many of whose members have been
recipients of "redistributed" farms - and in November 2007 the sale was
upheld.Tembani took his case to the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek, Namibia,
where it was heard on June 5 2009.

He won the case and the Zimbabwe
government was ordered not to evict him and to stop interfering with his use
and occupation of the farm.But in October 2009 Tembani and his family were
evicted and prevented from taking any farm equipment. Now virtually
destitute, they want justice.Tembani's first job in 1954 was as a gardener.
He later enrolled at Chibero Agricultural College in Norton, becoming a farm
manager on a dairy farm in the Nyazura district, where he worked for 18
years.

After independence, Tembani acquired a five-year lease on
Minverwag, a 1265-hectare property in Nyazura, with an option to buy. The
farmer, Helgard Muller, gave him a free lease to help him get
established.The Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), subsequently renamed
the Agriculture Bank of Zimbabwe (ABF), provided a loan and in 1985 Tembani
became the registered owner.He served on the Rural District Council and
the Indigenous Commercial Farmers' Union.

Tembani built Minverwag up
into a profitable enterprise, comprising 100ha of tobacco, 80ha of maize,
10ha of paprika and 40ha of wheat/soya rotation. He increased his beef herd
to 600 animals and developed a pig unit and an ostrich project.In 1986
Tembani decided to build a school and the following year opened Chimwanda
Primary School, with free schooling for 321 pupils.He also improved staff
housing and built a church hall.

During the 1990s, when interest rates
escalated sharply and there were serious national droughts, Tembani ran into
financial difficulties. After meeting with the AFC, he arranged to sell off
a viable 418ha of the farm as a subdivision in 1996.The AFC agreed that
this would cover his debt and buyers were found while they waited for the
title deeds to be issued.But the renamed ABZ reneged on the arrangement,
auctioning the property in November 2000 for Z$6-million - even though an
independent valuator valued the farm at Z$15-million.

"Only two
buyers were present and the farm was sold to Takawira Zembe, a businessman
who only paid 10% at the auction and who is believed to have as many as 18
farming enterprises in the country, gained in this way," said
Tembani.After the eviction, Zembe refused to let his twins attend the
school unless Tembani ceded total ownership of the farm to Zembe and
withdrew his appeal against the eviction.

"Zembe is not operating
Minverwag as a commercial farming enterprise but has cut it into plots for
peasant farmers who are paying him for the use of the land," Tembani
said.In April this year, Tembani joined commercial farmer Mike Campbell in
signing papers to take the SADC heads of state to the tribunal for the
suspension.But Tembani was denied access to the tribunal to claim
damages against the Zimbabwean government for refusing to comply with his
SADC judgment.The family now live in basic rented accommodation and are
without an income.

"As I speak to you, at the age of 74, I'm sitting on
an old stool with nothing, despite all the years of hard work," said
Tembani. "We live hand-to-mouth selling little bags of sugar and other
basics in a difficult and competitive environment, instead of contributing
to food security."My wife and I want our farm back but right now it's too
political," he said with regret.-The Times

Zim
Nationals In SA May Be Allowed To Vote

JOHANNESBURG, May 22, 2011- The three principals of Zimbabwe's
government of national unity have agreed on a number of critical measures to
be implemented as part of ongoing preparations for free and fair
elections.

These include allowing Zimbabweans in South Africa to vote.
Minutes of a meeting between President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, seen by Sunday Times,
show the principals agreed on several points of electoral and media
reform.They also agreed to keep Mutambara in his current post in the
government, despite growing complaints from Industry and Trade Minister
Welshman Ncube, who has replaced him as the leader of the smaller MDC
faction.The minutes, dated May 10, contained in a memo written by Dr Misheck
Sibanda, the chief secretary to the president and cabinet, say several key
issues were approved at the principals' meeting this week.

They say
an agreement has been made to push the Electoral Amendment Bill to introduce
electoral reforms agreed by the global political agreement
negotiators.The minutes also reveal that the principals have agreed to
allow Zimbabweans in Southern African Development Community countries,
including South Africa, to vote in the next elections for the first
time.There are millions of Zimbabweans in SADC countries, mainly South
Africa. Most of the Zimbabweans in the region fled political repression and
economic problems at home.

"Provision should be made enabling
Zimbabweans domiciled in SADC countries to vote. Pursuant to that principled
decision a paper should be prepared spelling out the mechanism for making
this possible," the minutes say."The chief secretary (Sibanda) will advise
the minister of justice and legal affairs to incorporate this decision into
the Electoral Amendment Bill and arrange for the above paper."

The
minutes further say that the GPA negotiators' recommendations on a polling
station-based voters' roll must be implemented."The recommendations of the
negotiators on this issue should be implemented. Pursuant to that decision
measures should be taken to ensure that voters do not feel intimidated by
one side or the other in the run-up to the polls."

The minutes also
indicate that media reforms agreed by negotiators must be implemented. This
includes the appointment of a mass media trust board to ensure government
does not directly interfere in the operations of Zimpapers, a listed chain
newspaper company.The principals also agreed that a new board of the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe should be appointed soon to ensure that
radio and television licences are issued to new players before the
elections.

White
Gold Miner Raided By Police

Karoi, 22
March - Police on Friday were left with an egg on their faces when they
raided a white gold miner without a search warrant only to emerge empty
handed.

According to police insiders here, six officers from the
Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) and
Police Internal Security Intelligence (PISI) raided an office used by miner
Ben Labbah in the low density surburb of the town claiming he had a money
printing machine.

“ The officers did not have a search warrant with
them besides knowing it is illegal to search anyone even if they had enough
evidence.They said he had a money printing machine ,” an insider told Radio
Vop at the weekend. Coincidently, another team of officers raided his gold
mine at Kasimure area about 35 kilometers out of Karoi town for yet another
search that yielded nothing.“ We were suprised that the officers linking
us to planning meetings for Movement for Democratic Change came here. The
officers alleged we had pamphlets denouncing Zanu (PF) that we were
distributing to villagers but had no samples with them. They had no search
warrant and found nothing.” said a worker who declined to be named for fear
of victimisation.

Labbar could not comment about the police raid on his
premises but other sources admitted the raids were aimed at linking MDC-T
with few remaining whites around the farming town. The police Officer in
Charge, Chief Inspector Sithole refused to comment on the issue.

“ I
can not comment about that, I am sorry ” was all he could say when contacted
for comment. The two MDC formations have insisted on reforms of the security
services that include the police, army and the intelligence organ, the
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

'Chihuri
must go'

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has demanded
the removal of security chiefs, notably police commissioner general
Augustine Chihuri and army commander Constantine Chiwenga, before the
country’s next elections.

The Daily News is in possession of the
MDC’s position paper, which is being pushed through the Sadc-led
negotiations – and highlights how Chihuri and Chiwenga’s continued stay
would undermine both the credibility of future elections as well as the
country’s stability.

The reform of the security sector is one of the key
outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement (GPA). It has stalled
further progress in the bedding down of an election roadmap, with President
Robert Mugabe describing demands for changes within the security sector as
“nonsensical”.

Tsvangirai and political analysts say securocrats are the
real power behind Mugabe and Zanu PF – hence the refusal by the Zanu PF
leader to reform the sector.

In the meantime, Sadc appointed
mediator, South African President Jacob Zuma is pressuring GPA negotiators
to expedite and conclude their talks on an election roadmap that would usher
in the much anticipated elections.

“The current leadership in the
security sector has in the past shown that they are partisan. In our view,
the best way to realign the security sector is to retire at the very minimum
the Commissioner-General of Police Augustine Chihuri and the Commander of
the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) General Constantine Chiwenga,” the MDC’s
policy document states.

Alternatively, Tsvangirai’s party demands, the
security chiefs should, at the very minimum, issue a public statement
unequivocally stating that they would uphold the constitution and support
the will of the people if they were to remain in their
positions.

Tsvangirai also wants to receive full security briefs, similar
to those given to Mugabe regularly by security chiefs – if confidence in the
security sector was to be engendered across political divides.

The
MDC says its demand for security sector reforms, contained in its 10-page
document, is in reaction to the security chiefs’ previous actions, which
allegedly include leading “an orgy of violence” against MDC
supporters.

Security chiefs have in the past publicly stated that
they are unwilling to salute or take instruction anyone other than Mugabe
and other Zanu PF leaders. Chihuri has also publicly and controversially
stated his allegiance to Zanu PF on several occasions.

The MDC
position paper also demands the retirement of other perceived Zanu PF
functionaries such as Attorney General (AG) Johannes Tomana and Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono.

In addition, the premier’s party
wants ministers responsible for the security portfolios, such as defence,
home affairs, state security and justice, to report to Tsvangirai’s office
at policy implementation and supervisory levels.

“Put simply, the
story of Gbagbo and Ivory Coast must be avoided,” the document states – a
reference to the bloody civil war that eventually ousted Ivory Coast
dictator Laurent Gbabgo who, with the help of the army had refused to accept
electoral defeat.

The party is pushing for the enactment of a legal
framework to regulate the activities of the dreaded Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO), which for long has been accused of abducting, maiming
and harassing Mugabe’s political opponents.

“The existence and
operations of the CIO must be regulated by an Act of Parliament which should
be enacted before the next elections,” the document says.

Sources
close to the country’s inter-party negotiations the Daily News yesterday
that Zanu PF had since thrown the ball back into the MDC court by asking it
to draft a Bill to regulate the operations of the CIO.

Douglas Mwonzora,
the MDC spokesperson, confirmed the development, saying: “The security
sector is a hot issue, but there were a few concessions. The MDC was asked
to table a Bill to govern the security sector particularly the CIO. Zanu PF
says it does not know how to regulate the activities of the
CIO”.

The MDC also proposes that the police service, defence and
Mariyawanda Nzuwa's Public Service Commission be accountable to parliament,
and to the president, Tsvangirai and Cabinet, particularly on policy issues
such as recruitment and purchase of arms.

Charamba
apologises to CNN

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, has
apologised profusely to a CNN news crew that was harassed by police last
week - to avert a diplomatic disaster as the SADC summit opened in Windhoek
on Friday.CNN journalist, Robyn Curnow and her cameraperson, Shevan
Rayson were stopped from filming and briefly detained by overzealous police
officers while filming along Harare's First Street. The CNN crew was
accredited by the Zimbabwe Media Commission and had permission to work from
the Ministry of Information. The experienced CNN cameraperson discreetly
recorded the whole episode, 17 minutes of footage.Sensing the potential
impact of the fall-out of the arrest, Charamba moved fast to douse the fires
by summoning the crew to Munhumutapa Building and apologising. He reportedly
pleaded with the journalists to can the story until after the summit at
least. Press freedom groups rounded on the authorities for unnecessary
high-handedness.Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), Foster Dongozi said:
"We call the GNU to increase its level of tolerance on journalists at work.
The government's acceptance of democracy will be measured on levels of
tolerance on the media. ZUJ strongly condemns what happened to the CNN
crew," Dongozi said.The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) said in a
statement the detention of the CNN crew was a serious matter and urged
police to allow journalists to do their job. “The constitution makes the
right of the Zimbabwean public and all media professionals to receive and
impart information a fundamental human right and not a privilege."

Tsvangirai
Did Not Abuse Journalists: Tamborinyoka

HARARE, May 21, 2011- Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka has defended his boss’s position in which he
has been attacked by public media journalists for doubting their
professionalism in face of the incessant propaganda being peddled by
them.

He said that his boss has not abused journalists. Tamborinyoka said
his boss was rather a long time victim of the public media without
protection from the same stakeholders raising concern over his recent
statement saying the same media also had a responsibility to protect the
citizens. PM Tsvangirai attacked the public media for irresponsible
journalism saying it was “hard to believe that the journalists themselves
believed in their own stories.”

“The Prime Minister, for long (time has
been) a victim of hate speech and a subservient public media, has largely
remained quiet in the wake of vicious and defamatory attacks. He respects
the public media, but the same media also have a responsibility to respect
him and the public office that he holds,” said Tamborinyoka.He also
indicated that the citizenry also need protection from the same media
organizations like ZUJ and Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) just as they
protect the journalists from other physical and verbal attacks.“Prime
Minister Tsvangirai has always been a victim and not a perpetrator of hate
speech. He has been a victim of a hostile public media that has consistently
and persistently attacked his person and it is regrettable that the ZUJ has
not sought to protect him or to censor the responsible journalists and the
media houses,” he said.

ZUJ recently issued a statement condemning the
recent attacks at the media including the statements by PM Tsvangirai made
at the recent SAPES truts seminar in the capital.“We are concerned that
some of the public officials implicated in the use of intolerant language
with potential to undermine or demean journalists are Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, whose statements implied that colleagues working in the Public
media are ‘shallow’. We acknowledge that journalists need to improve on
professional and ethical conduct after the profession was for several years
in the doldrums,” read the ZUJ statement.While Zimbabwean journalists have
been subjected to some very unfair situations in the country, with
politicians being part of the perpetrators of violence against them, the
public media has been accused of furthering the Zanu (PF) propaganda
portraying the MDC and other Zanu (PF) critics as enemies of the state
through its partisan reportage. (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)

'Zuma
and SADC must respect me' - Mutambara

Stung by Southern African Development Community (SADC)
leaders' recognition of his rival Welshman Ncube as the president of the
smaller MDC faction, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has written to
South African President Jacob Zuma on a series of disputed issues which he
says are affecting his position.

In his letter to Zuma, Mutambara
says SADC leaders and South Africa's facilitation team should not
acknowledge Ncube as the leader of the now renamed MDC-N, because his
position was being challenged in the courts. He further accuses Ncube and
the MDC-N's Global Political Agreement (GPA) negotiators, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Moses Mzila Ndlovu, of abusing their posts to
settle internal political problems within the warring
party.

Mutambara tells Zuma, the SADC facilitator in Zimbabwe, that
if Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Mzila Ndlovu did not change their approach, he
would "withdraw" them as GPA negotiators.

Ncube and the MDC-N say
they have expelled Mutambara and his supporters, who they describe as
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF surrogates, from the party in the
aftermath of its controversial January congress, which triggered the power
struggle.

However, Mutambara, who withdrew from the race against Ncube,
allowing him to take over the leadership uncontested, and his group claim
they have expelled Ncube from the party. The issue has spilled into a court
battle. Mutambara has been barred by the High Court from claiming to be the
party leader, although his position as deputy prime minister has not been
affected.

"As you are aware, there have been some leadership
differences in my party, MDC, which have led to court proceedings. My
approach to these challenges has been to handle them in such a manner that
there is minimal disruption to the GPA dialogue and the implementation
thereof," Mutambara says in the letter.

"Unfortunately, the two
negotiators our party has kept in the process, with my blessing (Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Moses Mzila Ndlovu), are now abusing both the GPA
process and the other four negotiators by seeking to settle internal party
differences through the negotiations. This must not be
permitted."

Mutambara states the party has been renamed from the MDC-M to
MDC-N and should not participate in the GPA processes. He further says
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Mzila Ndlovu have tried to define the term
"principal" in the GPA to mean a party political leader in the elections
road map, as a strategy to remove him as party leader and as deputy prime
minister.

"Specifically, in the GPA road map under discussion, they
have sought to rename our party MDC-Ncube and yet, in the GPA, the name is
explicitly indicated as MDC-Mutambara. This is violation of the GPA, as
there is no succession clause allowing them to do so. The negotiators have
no mandate to rewrite the GPA.

"Secondly, the two negotiators have
sought to put a definition of a GPA principal (as president of a party) in
the road map," he says.

"Again, this is a total abuse of the GPA process
as they are aware that so far the courts of Zimbabwe have explicitly denied
them this definition. They went to court seeking to stop me acting as
president of the party and also to stop me acting as GPA principal, as two
separate requests.

"This is acknowledgement that the two functions are
different."

Mutambara says the court did not stop him being deputy prime
minister - a resolve endorsed by Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
- and that Zuma must respect this. - TimesLive

Church
leaders confront Mushohwe over violence

MUTARE - Church leaders in Manicaland province on Thursday
grilled Christopher Mushowe, the provincial governor, over increasing cases
of violence that have resulted in some villagers fleeing to
Mozambique.

Over 60 church leaders who attended the meeting told
Mushowe that the use of hate language and failure by the police to arrest
perpetrators were contributing to the escalating violence.

The church
leaders told Mushowe to take appropriate action to end the violent attacks
on innocent people especially in rural areas such as Nyanga, Buhera,
Chipinge and Chimanimani.

Some of the victims of political violence,
mainly MDC-T members, have since fled their homes in Nyanga and Chimanimani
and were now refugees in Mozambique while others were living in forests,
according to the church leaders.

Churches in Manicaland, a coalition
of provincial church leaders from various denominations, organised the
meeting.

“It is a worrying case that those people that cause violence are
known to the people but nothing has been done to them.

“Those that
start violence must face the music,” said one of the church
leaders.

Mushowe, in his address, accused church leaders of being
selective in their criticism because they were ignoring the imposition of
sanctions on Zimbabwe by Western countries.

He said he
was against violence. “I always tell people that I am against violence and
if there is anyone who claims I would be for violence they should come over
to me and ask to take with them any of my children for such acts and see if
I agree,” said Mushowe.

Pastor Jonathan Memory Chindewere of Kingdom
Faith Ministries quizzed Mushowe on double speak. He accused politicians of
preaching peace at one gathering and ordering violence against opponents at
rallies.

“If we are to take your words at this gathering we wonder why we
still have reports of violence to this day,” said Chindewere in response to
Mushowe’s address.

Bishop Patrick Mutume of the Roman Catholic Church
expressed hope that Mushowe would act more vigorously to end violence after
meeting the church leaders.

Bank
story misleading - Kereke

Munyaradzi Kereke, adviser to Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono,
has denied that he met Vice-President Joyce Mujuru in attempt to save
ReNaissance Bank from being placed under curatorship, as we reported in
"Mujuru called on to save beleaguered bank" last week.

Kereke has
also denied being sent by anyone to meet Mujuru on behalf of the
bank.

His lawyers have sent a letter of demand to the Sunday Times,
saying our story implies that Kereke is working against the objective of the
bank, whose mandate is to investigate ReNaissance Bank and to institute
appropriate remedial measures.

They say that the story implies that
Kereke departed from the code of ethics of the Reserve Bank, and that he was
operating as an agent of people opposed to the prescriptions of the Reserve
Bank.

Kereke has demanded $6-million from the Sunday Times and its
distributors.

Mining
Companies At War With Gwayi Council Over Licences

LUPANE, May 22, 2011- A row has erupted between the Gwayi Sub
–Catchment Council and the newly licensed coal –mining companies in
Matabeleland North province on how the companies got their licences from
Ministry of Mines and Development.

The Sub –Catchment council is
accusing two of the five companies that were controversially licensed by the
Ministry of Mines and Development to carry out coal mining activities in the
Sinamatela area, which is located in the wildlife rich Hwange National
Park.One of the Mining company , Makomo Investment has also been accused of
polluting Lukosi river while the mining activities of the other
company,Liberation Mining is said to be threatening the Gwayi-Shangani dam
which is being built within its vicinity.The chairperson of the Gwayi
Sub-Catchment Council and farmer Langton Masunda said the extraction of coal
in the catchment area should not be allowed at it undermines national
interests.

“ Liberation Mining should not be allowed to do any mining
within the catchment area because doing so will be tantamount to pursuing
individual interests against national interests .The dam is expected to play
a pivotal role in turning around the country’s economy through tourism,
agriculture and rural folks are expected to reap from it through activities
such as fishing. The operations of these companies should be halted before
it is too late, ” saidMasunda.The catchment manager for the area,
Fortune Musoni also echoed Masunda’s sentiments.

“ It has been proven
beyond any doubt that anywhere where there is a mine, a water source is most
likely to be polluted through sip page in the event of rains. We recently
recommended that the companies should cease the operations in the area ”
said Musoni.

Masunda accused the two companies of failing to possess an
Environmental Impact Assessment certificate as per statutory requirements.
Efforts to get a comment from the Mining companies involved were all in
vein.

Malawi cuts off its own nose – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 21st May 2011

The Vigil is sorry
that our brothers and sisters in Malawi will suffer for President Mutharika’s
hubris. Britain this week froze aid to Malawi because of its expulsion of the
British High Commissioner for (privately) describing Mutharika as ‘intolerant of
criticism’. The Malawian government relies on foreign aid for 40% of its income,
with Britain the largest donor. Finance Minister Ken Kandodo said there would
have to be austerity measures but Malawi was ready to make tough decisions. We
doubt that Mugabe’s friend Mutharika will make the tough decision to cut down
the size of his Presidential palaces. What a dreadful prospect that would be
(see: Malawi to cut spending after UK aid freeze – http://reuters-ukaidfreeze.notlong.com).

However the British
government is only doing what we asked them to do. The Vigil has reluctantly
joined a British domestic debate about foreign aid so that we can increase
pressure on SADC to act honestly over Zimbabwe.

We understand
President Zuma’s reasons for postponing discussions on elections in Zimbabwe and
hope it will give SADC leaders time to weigh objectively the counter claims:
Mugabe’s promise of more of the same or the MDC’s promise of democracy and
respect for the law.

To help focus the
minds of SADC leaders the Vigil has been pushing the British government to
suspend aid to countries supporting Mugabe. This is a substantial amount.
Britain is one of the very few countries – if not the only one – to honour the
Gleneagles Agreement of 2005 under which the world’s richest countries committed
themselves to giving 0.7% of their national income in foreign aid.

In Britain’s case
this will amount this year to £8.1 billion (rising to £11.5 billion in 2014
/15). All this is at a time of stringent budget cuts at home – pressure on
hospitals and schools, job losses in public services etc etc. For instance, the
Foreign Office budget is due to fall from £2.3 billion to £1.3
billion.

Of course, private
aid is not included. In this field, the British people are second only to the
Americans in their generosity.

Here is a letter the
Vigil has sent to the Defence Secretary, Dr Fox who wants a more nuanced
approach to how British government aid is allocated.

The Zimbabwe Vigil
notes with interest your recent comments and fully supports demands for a more
flexible approach to the UK’s overseas aid.

We applaud the
generous aspiration behind the government’s pledge to increase aid to 0.7% of
GNP but we agree that the UK needs to be more discriminating on how this money
is distributed.

We understand, of
course, that you have different priorities. Of particular interest to us is
budgetary aid given to member countries of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), amounting to many hundreds of millions of pounds a year. SADC
has betrayed the people of Zimbabwe by pandering to the odious Mugabe regime for
the past decade.

Although there are
signs that President Zuma of South Africa is now of a mind to take a more robust
approach to Mugabe, there are many SADC leaders who are still in the
anti-British and pro-Mugabe camp. Take, for instance, the notoriously corrupt
regime in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will feature among the top 10
recipients of UK spending in direct aid for 2012 / 2013 at £165 million. Or take
Malawi, which although this year is receiving £90 million of British budgetary
aid, has recently expelled the British High Commissioner for criticising
President Mutharika for being intolerant of criticism. Mutharika has made no
secret of his admiration for Mugabe, naming a new highway after his idol, who in
turn has given the Malawian leader a stolen farm.

The Zimbabwe Vigil
believes that British budgetary support for SADC countries should be withheld if
they act against British interests which, we have been assured, include free and
fair elections in Zimbabwe.

It is for this
purpose that we have been protesting outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London for
the last nine years.

PS We enclose a
sample page of a petition for which we are currently gathering signatures. It
reads:
‘A Petition to
European Union Governments: We record our dismay
at the failure of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help the
desperate people of Zimbabwe at their time of trial. We urge the UK government
and the European Union in general to suspend government to government aid to all
SADC countries until they abide by their joint commitment to uphold human rights
in the region. We suggest that the money should instead be used to feed the
starving in Zimbabwe.’

cc Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, Secretary of State
for International Development,

Rt Hon William Hague MP, Secretary of State for Foreign &
Commonwealth Affairs

Other
points

·Vigil supporters were interested to see a photograph of Mugabe
falling asleep in his chair and we acted out the scene for the passing public
pointing out the absurdity of such an old man standing for re-election
(Speculation
mounts as Mugabe collapses – http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/may19_2011.html#Z7).

·Vigil
supporters were disturbed that a former CIO torturer Phillip Machemedze has been
given asylum in the UK. Machemedze, who admitted carrying out acts of torture
‘too gruesome to recount’, is now living with his wife on British Social
Security benefits. Mr Justice David
Archer said there was no doubt that Mr Machemedze was "deeply involved in savage
acts of extreme violence. Some were killed slowly and their bodies disposed of.
He witnessed people with their limbs cut off." But the judge said that under the
European Human Rights Convention, Machemedze should be protected from torture
and threats to his life if he returned to Zimbabwe. The Vigil
believes that Britain is already infested by enough Zanu PF supporters without
inviting the whole CIO to come over here to take advantage of free housing,
medical attention, education and living expenses (see: http://uktelegraph-ciograntedasylum.notlong.com).

·Joke of
the week: the Daily News says that nearly 700 officials involved in the
Constitutional Outrage programme – many of them illiterate (including some MPs)
have cost more than US $4 million in the last two weeks doing nothing except run
up hotel bills (see: http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/may21_2011.html#Z11
– Copac officials blow up US$4m).

·Zimbabwe
Vigil dancers performed at a Community Event for Adult Learners’ Week at City
and Islington College in North London. Thanks to Dumi Tutani, Farai Marema,
Wendy Ziyambi, Edna Mdoka and Moses Kandiyawo for a lively and much appreciated
performance that helped to spread the awareness of Zimbabwe’s human rights
abuses.

·Our
condolences to Vigil team member Patson Muzuwa whose mother died in Zimbabwe
this week. A collection was made for Patson and Vigil supporters signed a
sympathy card for him.

·Thanks to
Mercy Muranganwa (who has been coming at our 2 pm start and staying till the
end) for her help over the past few weeks with the register and setting up the
Vigil. Thanks also to ROHR members (Paradzai Mapfumo, Lorraine Zakeyo,
Emmaculate Mabaya, Christopher Bvumai Chimbumu, Shoriwa Mutandiro) who once
again supplied soft drinks for thirsty Vigil supporters.

·The Restoration of
Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s
partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil
to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s
mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through
membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in
Zimbabwe.

·ZBN News.
The
Vigil management team wish to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not
responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that
they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no
control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN
News.

·ROHR Nottingham
general meeting. Saturday
28th May from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: St Saviours in the Meadows Church,
Arkwright Walk, Nottingham NG2 2JU. The church is just a few minutes’ walk from
the train station. ROHR National Executive members will be attending to discuss
the abuse of human rights and political situation in Zimbabwe. Contact: Allan
Nhemhara 07810197576, Mary Chabvamuperu 07412074928, Christopher Chimbumu
07775888205, P Chibanguza 07908406069 or P Mapfumo 07915926323 / 07932216070.

·‘Through the
Darkness’, Judith Todd’s
acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe. To receive a copy by post in the UK
please email confirmation of your order and postal address to
ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and send a cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to
Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA. All
proceeds go to the Budiriro Trust which provides bursaries to needy A Level
students in Zimbabwe.

·Workshops aiming to
engage African men on HIV testing and other sexual health issues. Organised by the
Terrence Higgins Trust (www.tht.org.uk). Please contact the
co-ordinator Takudzwa Mukiwa (takudzwa.mukiwa@tht.org.uk) if you
are interested in taking part.

Vigil
Co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk